


Silas High

by queencarmilla



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Human Carmilla Karnstein
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 13:30:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4350614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queencarmilla/pseuds/queencarmilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate universe where Carmilla is the new student at Silas High School, who quickly befriends Laura, Danny, Perry and LaFontaine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Carmilla's First Day

**Chapter 1: Carmilla’s First Day**

 

“Laura?”

 

Distressed was not the word to describe what I was feeling. In fact, there was not a single word in the English language that could portray my completely erratic emotions.

 

“Laura?”

 

I could hear my name being called but it was not being registered. My mind was frantic and I couldn’t believe the situation that I was in.

 

“Laura! Come on!”

 

Danny, my best friend, began whisking me away from the bulletin board. I realized that my mouth had been hanging open in shock and I quickly snapped it close to avoid appearing pathetic.

 

“I’ve been captain of the debate team two years in a row!” I said frantically.

 

“I know. I know.” Danny began patting my head sympathetically. For her over six-foot frame, it was easy to do.

 

Danny did not seem to be too dismayed. She was also on the debate team, and probably thought that I was overreacting. And I probably was, but I wanted my two-year debate streak to continue into my last year of high school. Wishfully, I sighed, and followed Danny into our homeroom, which we shared with our other two friends, Perry and Lafontaine.

 

It had only been a few days into our senior year of high school, and it had been going well, up until now. I had been happy by the fact that the four of us had been put into the same homeroom, and would not only spend an hour of lunch together, but also the first ten minutes of the day. My classes and teachers had been good picks, and no one had caused me any trouble. But not being the captain of the debate team, well, that was a reason to make me upset.

 

I stumbled into class with a frown, and immediately saw that a girl unknown to me was occupying my usual seat. Perry was enthusiastically talking to her, and the new girl had her back to me. Lafontaine caught my eye and smiled, but became aware of my annoyed expression, and walked over to me. Luckily, our teacher had not yet made it to the room, so the class was full of noise.

 

“What’s the matter, Laura? Angry you’ve been replaced by the new girl?” Perry said once she was standing in front of me.

 

“What? No. That’s not it.” I rolled my eyes and looked to the new girl, but I still could not see her face properly.

 

“Oh, what happened?”

 

I crossed my arms and watched Danny take her seat behind the new girl, and quickly introduced herself to her.

 

“Well, I saw the debating team list, and I didn’t make the captain.”

 

Perry nodded sadly. “Sorry to hear.”

 

“It’s alright! I’ll get over it.”

 

“Two years was a good run though, right?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Now, who’s that?” I asked, looking at the girl occupying my seat.

 

“I forgot her name. It’s unusual. She’s new and she was sitting there when we got in.”

 

The girl had long, dark brown hair hanging down her back, which matched her entirely black clothing ensemble. I still could not see her face.

 

I walked over to the seat behind Danny, at the very back of the classroom. Normally, I loved sitting in the front, because I was all for answering questions in class and becoming well known by the teacher. But I was okay being at the back this time, because it was not an actual class.

 

The teacher, Ms. Mary, finally arrived and the new girl focused to the front of the room, so I could not have seen what she looked like. Ms. Mary struggled quieting down the classroom and grumbled at the disruptive students.

 

“Students! Quiet down!” Ms. Mary yelled, and the students finally became silent. “I just wanted to point out our new student. Where is she? Oh, there she is.” Ms. Mary pointed to her. “Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?”

 

The new girl sighed. “My name is – ”

 

“Actually, why don’t you stand up?” Ms. Mary interjected.

 

Slowly, the new girl stood up and looked at the students at the front of the classroom. “My name is Carmilla. I moved here from San Francisco. I’m seventeen…that’s pretty much it.” She sat back down.

 

A few students clapped, and, like usual, I followed suit.

 

“Thank you, Carmilla, and welcome to Silas High School. Would anyone be willing to show her around at lunch?” Ms. Mary was silent for a moment and no one put his or her hand up to volunteer. She focused her eyes towards my direction. “Laura? Danny? Can you please show Carmilla around later?”

 

“Yes, of course,” Danny said.

 

“Yes,” I said.

 

Carmilla still did not turn around, and I still had no idea what she looked like.

 

Students began talking again, and Danny turned around and shrugged. I was about to say something but she turned back to the front and tapped Carmilla on the back. Carmilla turned around and looked blankly at Danny. I was quickly mesmerized by her beauty, and stared at her stunning expressionless face. Her porcelain skin was clear and breathtaking, and her eyes were dark and mysterious. But staring too much at a person for their beauty was weird, and I should definitely not make a habit out of it.

 

“Hey, Carmilla. What do you have next?” Danny asked.

 

“I have History,” Carmilla said.

 

“Oh, damn. I have English.” Danny looked at Perry and Lafontaine. “What do you guys have?”

 

“We have Chemistry together,” Perry answered.

 

Danny turned to me.

 

“Oh! I have History too!” I said, almost going red.

 

Carmilla let out the slightest hint of a smile and nodded once. “Cool,” she said.

 

“Yeah, I can totally show you where it is.”

 

“Great.”

 

Perry and Lafontaine engaged in conversation again and Danny started asking Carmilla questions. I stopped listening to Danny and Carmilla because I found it would be too difficult to join in on the conversation as they were so far away from me. This made me wonder whether I would get my old seat back. It really was the perfect seat – I could talk to the three of my friends very easily. But now, they seem very far away. So instead, I started writing my debating speech for the following Saturday, although it was hard, as I kept looking up to see the stoic-looking Carmilla.

 

When everyone left for first period, I joined Carmilla, who was slowly gathering her belongings.

 

“Hey, I’m Laura, by the way,” I said, introducing myself.

 

“Nice to meet you,” she said and looked at me.

 

“So, our History class isn’t very far away.”

 

We started walking out of the classroom in silence. She followed me slowly, which meant I kept looking back to see if she was still there. I realized the situation was starting to become awkward, and I started rambling. Rambling is a terrible habit of mine.

 

“Our History teacher is really cool, I think. He can be kinda boring, though. But, he’s really nice, so you don’t need to worry about that. Right now we’re doing the Russian Revolution, which is really interesting!”

 

“Sounds fun,” she said sarcastically.

 

“Well, I mean, it’s okay, I guess.”

 

We reached the classroom and took two seats together. There hadn’t really been assigned seats as of yet, so it didn’t matter where she sat. A few people said hello to me, to which I replied, and tried making conversation with Carmilla.

 

“So, where do you live?” I asked.

 

“My family had been living in hotel for a few days while we tried to find a house, and we’ve found one now, but I can’t remember the name of the neighborhood,” Carmilla answered.

 

“You were living in a hotel?”

 

“Yep. Well, I haven’t seen the new house yet, so technically I’m still living in a hotel.”

 

“Oh.”

 

* * *

 

History was the only class that I had with Carmilla that morning. We spent it listening to our teacher drone on about Russia, and there was little time to speak to one another. By the time lunch came around I had not seen Carmilla since the first period we shared together. When I sat down to see Perry, LaFontaine and Danny at our usual table, I briefly wondered whether Carmilla would join us. We were supposed to show her around, but we didn’t know if that was really her thing.

 

Not even after a few seconds that I sat down, Kirsch, a confident, good-looking jock stopped by our table, smiling directly at Danny.

 

“Hey guys! How’s it going?” he asked.

 

“Good, good. We were actually just waiting for Carmilla,” Perry pointed out.

 

“Who’s that?” he said.

 

“The new girl,” I said.

 

“Oh. The one who looks like a vampire?” Kirsch laughed.

 

“She does not! That’s so mean,” said LaFontaine.

 

“Black clothes, pale skin. She’s definitely on her way to becoming a vampire.”

 

Danny scoffed. “Vampire’s aren’t real.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right, Danny. I’m just kidding. Anyway, see you later.”

 

Kirsch left our table, grinning confidently.

 

“Oh, she’s coming!” Perry said, eyes widening.

 

“She is?” I wondered in a whisper.

 

Perry and LaFontaine smiled widely, signaling that Carmilla was within a close distance. I turned my head to the side to see her approaching, and joined in on the smiling.

 

“Hey, Carmilla!” LaFontaine said.

 

“Hello.”

 

Carmilla sat down effortlessly, showing no signs of social anxiety or stress. If it were me, however, I would be freaking out completely.

 

“Do you need a tour of the school?” Danny asked.

 

“Not really. Everything seems pretty basic.”

 

“Yeah, it is. Aside from the fact there’s some weird old paintings and sculptures. But it’s pretty easy to get around,” I informed her.

 

“Really? I haven’t seen any yet.”

 

“If you look deep enough, you will.” I shuddered.

 

“Yeah, this high school can be pretty creepy,” said LaFontaine.

 

“That’s pretty cool,” Carmilla noted, nodding.

 

“So…why’d you move here?” Danny asked.

 

“Rent was starting to become too high in San Francisco. So my mother got a job here a few weeks ago, and here we are.”

 

“Just you and your mother?” Perry said.

 

“No. I have a sister too. She’s a junior.” She did not seem impressed by the conversation. “But what about you guys? How long have you been friends?”

 

“Danny and I have known each other for a while, but we essentially became friends at the start of high school,” I said.

 

“Perry and I were childhood friends,” said LaFontaine.

 

Danny and I became friends in 6th Grade, when I found her crying on the school steps because of friendship issues. I immediately tried making her feel better and we became fast friends, and went to the same High School together. But it was refreshing making new friends, Perry and LaFontaine, who had been inseparable since they were both six-years-old.

 

The conversation continued on this way for the rest of the lunch period. We did not find out much more about Carmilla, as it seemed as though she was resistant about answering questions about herself.

 

On my way to my next class, I received a text message from my mom. It read: _Someone’s finally moving in next door!_

It had taken a while to sell the house next door to us. A few months, at least. There just weren’t that many people wanting to relocate to Silas, California. We lived in a moderately sized suburb, but it wasn’t as impressive as areas like San Francisco or Los Angeles.

 

I replied: _Finally!_

My final class for the day was Gym, which was my least favorite. If it didn’t involve learning, I didn’t like it. It turned out that Carmilla was also in Gym, which I was kind of pleased about. None of my other friends were in this class; therefore I was often left to be paired up with Kirsch.

 

“Ugh, I hate gym class,” Carmilla muttered to me after getting changed. We were sat together waiting while some students still needed to come back from the changing rooms.

 

“Me too! I just want to go to school to learn, not exercise,” I said.

 

“Exercise makes me sick, seriously.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Well, not really, but I hate it.”

 

Mr. Benson, our Gym teacher, got the class to settle down and immediately made us do warm ups. I tried focusing on my own jumping jacks while I was placed next to Carmilla, but at times I couldn’t help my eyes wandering over to Carmilla while she did hers. I unconsciously thought about how good she looked in her gym gear.

 

After a ten minute warm up, I had already had enough, but embarrassingly it seemed like I was the only one, so I tried to appear less tired than I actually was.

 

“Holding up okay?” asked Carmilla, puffing slightly.

 

“Yeah, totally,” I said with false confidence.

 

Mr. Benson told us to partner off and begin doing sit-ups and crunches, to which the entire class groaned. Carmilla confidently partnered up with me, and when Carmilla wasn’t looking, Kirsch shook his head at me like I had betrayed him. I didn’t really feel too bad because I was excited to have Carmilla as my partner.

 

On the dark blue mat we chose, I started with the crunches while Carmilla held down my legs.

 

“I think. I hate. Crunches. The most,” I said in between in each crunch.

 

“I don’t know, I think you’re pretty good at them,” she said.

 

“Give me. About five more.”

 

Mr. Benson blew his obnoxious whistle. “Switch partners!”

 

Wiping sweat from my forehead, I sat up and watched Carmilla as she did the crunches. For the first few tries she did okay, but then she started to struggle.

 

“I’m so bad at this,” she groaned.

 

“No…you’re doing okay!”

 

“You’re a horrible! Liar!” she managed, and fell to the floor before the time was up.

 

I started giggling, and then stopped because I realized I was _giggling_. “Sorry!”

 

“Alright, time’s up!” Mr. Benson yelled. “Time for sit ups – let’s hope this time you’ll do better.”

 

“Don’t worry, he wasn’t talking about you,” I joked.

 

“Oh really? Well, I’m sure he wasn’t talking about you, either,” she said snidely, cocking her head to the side.

 

Sit-ups were much easier for me and I did not have as much trouble with them compared to the crunches. Still, by the end of the set my heart rate was high and I did not feel like continuing.

 

When it was Carmilla’s turn, she did the sit-ups slowly, which helped in maintaining a good pace.

 

“You’re going well this time,” I complimented.

 

“I have a good strategy. Don’t overexert yourself and do them slowly.”

 

“That does sound smart.”

 

Mr. Benson blew the whistle again. “Alright, well done everyone. Take a quick break and then we’ll get onto the push-ups.”

 

Carmilla sighed. “Will this ever end?”

 

I was exhausted by the end of period. Carmilla had definitely started on a bad day, because the other Gym classes on the previous days had been much tamer. Together, we walked out of the Gym and towards the car park. We had gotten changed but hadn’t showered, so showers were desperately needed.

 

“So, how are you getting home?” I asked.

 

“My mother is picking me up. You?”

 

“Oh, I drive home. I live about ten minutes away.”

 

“You’re lucky you have a car. I’ll probably have to start catching the bus from tomorrow.”

 

“Bummer. What’s on for the rest of the day?”

 

“My mom’s about to take me to the new house. I guess I’ll just be unpacking all night,” she said.

 

“Oh…that’s right.”

 

I had completely forgotten about our earlier conversation. My mom had sent me the text about someone moving into our house next door, but it couldn’t possibly be Carmilla and her family, could it?

 

Beginning to walk away from me, Carmilla said, “Well, see you tomorrow.”

 

“Bye! Hope you like you’re new house!”

 

She smiled and went inside a nearby black car. I cringed internally at my words, and in a stunned silence, realized that Carmilla could potentially be my new neighbor.


	2. Car Rides With The Karnstein's

**Chapter 2: Car Rides With The Karnstein’s**

I hung around for a few extra minutes in fear that I would potentially catch up with Carmilla and her mom on the road, and awkwardly pull in to my driveway just as Carmilla was pulling into hers. Thankfully, Danny was parked a few cars down from me, so I quickly spoke to her before leaving.

 

“Hey, Danny,” I said as I approached her.

 

“Laura! I’ve barely seen you all day,” she said, and pouted afterwards.

 

“I know. I wish we in more classes together.”

 

Danny and I were only in one class together: American Literature. It was probably my new least favorite subject. It used to be Gym, but having Carmilla with me had made it significantly better, although having Danny with me in American Literature was also nice.

 

“What do think of Carmilla?” Danny asked.

 

“She’s great. Really friendly. You?” I said nonchalantly.

 

“Yeah, she’s alright, I guess.” She paused. “Guess we have a new addition to the gang, then?”

 

“I can see that happening.”

 

Danny waved me off and got inside her car. Thinking that I had probably wasted enough time, I decided to drive home. I made it to my blue, used 2010 Nissan Versa car that used to be my mom’s, and drove home listening to the radio. The ten minute drive home went by hastily, and although I completely saw it coming, was still somewhat surprised when I saw the same black car that Carmilla got into just fifteen minutes earlier parked in the driveway of the house next door to mine. No one was outside, so I was able to quickly slip into my own house without being noticed by any of the family members.

 

The difference in our houses was pretty evident. My family’s home was two-story, new looking and had a clean and neat garden. Carmilla’s, however, was also two-story but had an unkempt garden with weeds everywhere, had black paint chipping off the house and was just overall rather old. Some might say that the house matched her personality, but I didn’t want to admit to something as dark as that.

 

When I arrived at my own house, my mom heard me and immediately came downstairs. I only lived with my mom, since my dad and her separated when I was five. Only recently my dad got a job in San Francisco and now lives there, so I do not see him as often as I used to.

 

“Laura, darling! How was your day?” my mom asked, halfway down the stairs.

 

“It was pretty good,” I answered, taking my shoes off.

 

My mom looked very similar to me. She was short, like me, and had golden blonde hair that she now has to dye regularly. Fortunately I haven’t gotten to that stage yet where I need to dye my hair every few months. My mom constantly tells me how jealous she is of my locks.

 

“I had a very interesting day,” she said.

 

“How so?”

 

“Well, while I was putting the clothes on the line, I noticed a moving truck outside, so after an hour or so I introduced myself to the woman and we chatted for a bit, and told me that she has two daughters who also go to Silas. And her oldest is also a senior! And her youngest is a junior. They’re very close in age.”

 

“That’s great – ”

 

“So I helped her unpack for a bit, but she was very nice, and told me that I shouldn’t help, but I needed to go grocery shopping – I hadn’t been for a week – and it’s my day off so I really needed to.”

 

“I’ve actually met – ”

 

“Have you seen a new girl at your school? It’s very likely that you have.”

 

“Yeah, I have.”

 

“Oh, that’s good! Because I kind of did something.”

 

“Mom, what?” I said.

 

My mom sat down on a stool in the kitchen. I did the same and started unpacking my school bag.

 

“I offered for you to start taking her daughters to school! Don’t hate me.” She looked away. “I got caught up in the moment and should have asked you first.”

 

“What…mom! Why would you do that?”

 

“I’m sorry, but I thought it would be nice! Imagine spending twenty minutes a day with two lovely girls – that would be nice. Better than being alone like you are!”

 

“Okay, but I could have asked her myself. She’s in my homeroom and two of my classes so I saw her a lot today. She even sat with us at lunch. I can’t believe you did this, mom, it’s so embarrassing.” I groaned and went into the kitchen to grab a snack.

 

“But that’s good that your friends with her!”

 

“We’re hardly friends yet, mom,” I said stonily.

 

“You will be, honey.”

 

“She doesn’t even know I live here.”

 

“She will. Just knock on her door tomorrow, take her to school and it’ll be okay.”

 

“Ugh. Whatever. I’ll think about it.”

 

I retreated into my bedroom quickly. Putting my belongings on my bed, I realized that my bedroom window had a pretty good view of the house next door. I peeked out my window, but the windows next door were dark and difficult to see into. I desperately hoped that Carmilla’s bedroom was not next to mine, as that meant she would know what I do everyday, and what I do everyday is essentially nothing. Most nights I study and do assignments, but some Fridays and Saturdays I hang out with my friends, and on Saturday afternoons I have debating competitions. I hoped she wouldn’t think I was too much of a loser.

 

* * *

 

The following day, after much deliberation, my mom came with me to the house next door to offer Carmilla and her sister a ride to school. It was early in the morning because my mom needed to leave for work soon and she had insisted that she accompany me, considering it was her idea in the first place.

 

I rolled my eyes when my mom knocked on the front door, and I cowered behind her. It took at least thirty seconds for someone to answer the door, who just happened to be Carmilla. She stood in front of us in dark blue pajamas, and looked slightly startled to me outside of her house.

 

“Hello there, dear. We’re you’re next-door neighbors,” said my mom. She extended a hand out to shake, and Carmilla took it.

 

“You are?” Carmilla said, smirking at me.

 

I shrugged sheepishly and looked to the ground.

 

“Yesterday I suggested to your mother that my daughter here could take you and your sister to school,” my mom said with enthusiasm.

 

Sometimes her enthusiasm was overbearing.

 

“Hey, Laura,” said Carmilla, smirking. “My sister and I were going to catch the bus. It can easily be managed.”

 

“Oh, nonsense! Laura doesn’t mind taking you, right Laura? She wants the company.”

 

“Totally,” I said.

 

“Well, I guess today would be okay…” Carmilla said. “But don’t feel obliged to do it everyday.”

 

“Awesome. Meet me at my car in half an hour?” I asked.

 

“Half an hour?” Carmilla asked, raising her eyebrows.

 

“Oh. Forty minutes?”

 

“Yep. See you soon.”

 

Carmilla closed the door and my mom turned around.

 

“That worked out, didn’t it?” she said.

 

“Yeah, it did.” But it was still embarrassing.

 

Together, we walked back into our house. My mother frantically moved around, stressing that she would be late for work and eventually left after five minutes. I slowly got ready for school, however feeling nervous about seeing Carmilla and her sister. I fiddled with my phone, but did not receive any texts and instead played mobile games in boredom.

 

At exactly 8:15am I got in my car and started waiting for my passengers. There was still another five minutes until we were scheduled to meet. I spent the time reading debating material and listening to the radio. By 8:19am Carmilla had hopped into the front seat and put her bag in the back.

 

“Hey, neighbor,” she said once she got in.

 

“Hey, neighbor,” I copied and grinned.

 

“My sister’s running late. I would say go without her, but…” she trailed off.

 

“We should wait.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I haven’t met her yet,” I noted.

 

“Really? Oh, she’s a treat.”

 

“Wonderful.”

 

“So, that’s weird we’re neighbors, huh?” Carmilla asked.

 

“Yeah, I know. Completely weird. Very strange.”

 

Carmilla nodded, unsmiling.

 

“So, how’d the moving process go?” I asked.

 

“It went well. There’s boxes everywhere – just how I like it,” she said, with a hint of sarcasm.

 

I laughed lightly. “No one has lived in your house for at least a year, I think.”

 

“Really? I can’t imagine why. There are spider webs everywhere. I had to spend at least 30 minutes cleaning my room.”

 

Suddenly, one of the backdoors opened and I turned around to see a pretty, dark skinned girl crawl in, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

 

“Oh! Hello!” I said.

 

“Hey. I’m Mattie,” she said, extending her arm.

 

I shook it in return. “I’m Laura. You guys…are sisters?”

 

“Yeah, yes we were. We get that reaction a lot,” Mattie said.

 

“We’re adopted,” Carmilla said without any expression.

 

I nodded somewhat sympathetically and started the car. It was an automatic, and rather simple to drive. I pulled out of the driveway carefully and began driving towards our school.

 

“So what’s fun to do in this town?” Mattie asked, leaning forward.

 

“What’s fun?” I repeated.

 

“Carmilla and I have been cooped up together for weeks. I literally want to kill her.”

 

“And I literally want to kill you too, sister,” Carmilla shot back.

 

“There’s a mall close by. It has a movie theater,” I answered.

 

“I guess that’s a start,” Mattie said.

 

“Guess you’re used to the amazing San Francisco life?” I wondered.

 

“Sort of. But it is nice living in a real house,” Carmilla said.

 

“How was your first day, Mattie?” I decided a subject change was in order, as Silas was an undeniably boring suburb.

 

She groaned. “ _Horrible_.”

 

“Really?” I looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Hopefully today will be a bit better.”

 

“I want to join a club. Which one should I join?” she said.

 

“Hm. There’s not the greatest choice of clubs.”

 

“What club are you a part of?”

 

“I’m on the debating team.” I came to a stop sign and had to look left. “What club were you a part of at your other school?”

 

“I was on the soccer team.”

 

“What about you, Carmilla? Thinking of joining a club?” I asked.

 

“I’m not really the club type.”

 

After a few minutes we arrived at school, and just as we got out of the car, the first bell rang, informing us that we should start heading towards homeroom. In the ten-minute car ride I learned much more about Mattie than Carmilla, who seemed to do the majority of the talking. Mattie was surely the more confident of the two.

 

“Thanks for driving us, Laura,” Mattie said.

 

“No problem. Sorry my mom was so forward.”

 

“It’s cool. See you after school.

 

Mattie walked away from Carmilla and I to go to her own homeroom. We only had a couple of minutes before we needed to be in class, and I preferred being early. I think that Carmilla and Mattie, however, thought the opposite.

 

“Thanks for the ride. You’re a great driver,” Carmilla complimented, while we walked side-by-side to our building.

 

“You’re just saying that,” I accused.

 

“To get more free rides? Of course not.”

 

I laughed, and, like usual, she stayed cool and didn’t laugh along.

 

“But I was really surprised to see you at my front door today. When my mother told me our neighbor’s daughter could take us to school, I thought it would be some stranger and it would be really awkward,” she continued.

 

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t have to endure that.”

 

We put our belongings away in our lockers and then entered our homeroom, which was full of chatter, alike to most mornings. Perry, LaFontaine and Danny turned to us when we walked in, and looked slightly taken aback to see us together. I hesitated before sitting in the same seat as yesterday, because I didn’t want to confuse Carmilla.

 

Ms. Mary was typically late, even though the second bell had gone. Danny turned around in her seat once I sat down, smiling widely.

 

“Guess what happened to me last night?” Danny asked.

 

“Not after you guess what happened to me,” I whispered back, trying not to let Carmilla hear, who was engaged in conversation with Perry.

 

“Something happened to you too?”

 

“I guess it’s probably not as good as yours. What happened?” I said.

 

“Last night I spent, like, two hours talking to Kirsch on Facebook.”

 

“Really? That’s great!” I said.

 

“I know. It’s definitely a start.”

 

“And you like him, right?” I asked.

 

“I guess so. He’ll do, anyway.”

 

Ms. Mary finally made it five minutes late, and spent the remaining five minutes reading the schools’ announcements. There was no opportunity for me to tell Danny about my neighbor situation with Carmilla, and then I had to leave for my next class. Perry and I were in the same Geometry class. It was nice being with Perry in the same subject, for we hadn’t shared any classes just the two of us in the past. It was also the only period that Perry didn’t share with LaFontaine.

 

There was little to no chance to speak to Perry, though, because our Geometry teacher spoke for almost the whole hour, giving us no opportunity to both work on our math problems and gossip to the person beside us. That left my second period of the day to have the chance to talk about being neighbors with Carmilla. It was American Literature, which I had with Danny, but it seemed as though she had forgotten that I also had news to share.

 

“We talked until about nine, and it was so amazing, you know? Time went by really quickly.”

 

“What did you talk about?” I asked.

 

“Everything. It started off with him asking me what the English homework was – ”

 

“Typical,” I interrupted.

 

“And then we talked about the Football game next Friday, which he invited me to, by the way, so we’re definitely going to that.”

 

“Oh yeah, I think I’m free.”

 

“But…oh yeah! Didn’t you also have something to tell me?”

 

We were supposed to be writing notes on the novel we were studying, but at least half of the class was also whispering loudly to the person next to them.

 

“You know that house next to mine that no one has lived in for ages?” I started.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Carmilla and her family lived there now. Carmilla is my new neighbor!” I frantically whispered.

 

“Seriously? Wow. That’s weird.” Danny ceased mock typing on her laptop and looked at me with widened eyes.

 

“And yesterday my mom met her mom and told her that I can take Carmilla and Mattie to school everyday.”

 

“Who’s Mattie?”

 

“Her sister.”

 

“So, wait, you took her to school?” Danny asked.

 

“Yes. I’m guessing I’ll have to take them all the time now. Who would choose the bus over a free ride?” I peeked over towards the teacher, Ms. Mary, who was absorbed in reading a novel.

 

“That’s true. But you’re okay with that, right? Carmilla’s alright.”

 

“Yeah." I smiled. “She’s alright.”

 

* * *

 

I was starving by the time lunch came around. I was quick to get in queue for the cafeteria, and was the first out of my friends to make it to our table that we shared. Beginning to scoff down my peas, Carmilla sat down beside me swiftly, plunking down a container full of her own lunch in front of her.

 

“Hey,” she said.

 

“Hey!” I said with a mouthful of food.

 

She opened her container. “I hate cafeteria food, it’s so bland,” she said, taking out a sandwich.

 

I looked at my tray in front of me in disgust. “You’re right. It’s disgusting.”

 

“Don’t stop me from eating your lunch,” she said, also staring at my lunch tray.

 

I was pretty hungry. I continued eating my peas and mashed potato, but was much more aware of how gross it was. But I think there was at least one comment about the lunch meal a day from me or my friends, so I was very used to it.

 

Perry and LaFontaine sat down in front of us, leaving one seat left beside Carmilla for Danny, who still hadn’t arrived. I searched the cafeteria for Mattie, because I had known she had had a bad day yesterday, and wanted to know that she was going okay. I found her sitting next a guy who usually sat alone.

 

We began talking about my favorite show, _Scandal_ , but Carmilla had never seen it before and was rather out of the loop. Danny arrived fifteen minutes into lunch with a grin on her face, but it dropped somewhat when she noticed that I was sitting next to Carmilla.

 

“Why are you so happy, Danny?” said Perry.

 

Danny grinned largely again, and said, “I was just talking to Kirsch for a bit.”

 

“About what?” asked LaFontaine.

 

“Well, I didn’t tell you about last night…”

 

For the third time that day, I had to listen to Danny gush about Kirsch. The past three years I had simply watched as their friendship progressed, and she often got excited about little moments she had with him, but it never went into something much more. It seemed as though she thought it might this time, considering Kirsch was no longer with his ex-girlfriend.

 

Danny grumbled once the bell went signaling the next period. She had barely gotten to the part explaining what she and Kirsch had been discussing earlier, and I feared I would have to listen to more of her drama the next time I saw her.

 

Later, in History, I spent half of the class with Carmilla trying to work out the order of events for a timeline as an exercise that our teacher gave us. Carmilla had a surprisingly good grasp of dates in the past.

 

“How do you remember all this?” I asked, struggling to put my timeline together in front of me.

 

“Dates aren’t so hard to remember for me,” she said coolly, not taking her eyes off her things on her desk.

 

“Really? You’re so lucky. You would do good in tests, then, right? I’ve always been so jealous of those kind of people,” I rambled.

 

“I don’t really use my skills to my advantage, though.” Her voice kept the same tone.

 

“Oh.” I scratched my nose and played with a piece of my hair. “Anyway. What are you doing on the weekend?”

 

Carmilla sighed. “Probably just sleep. Maybe I’ll hang out with my sister, or whatever. You?”

 

“Tomorrow I have my first debating competition,” I said, energized. “I’m pretty excited.”

 

“That sounds riveting.” Carmilla sat her chin in her palm and stared at me expressionless.

 

“Well, it is for me.” I pretended to be hurt.

 

When our teacher made us swap our papers with the person beside us to grade, Carmilla gotten almost all of them right, except for the last, because she had been too busy talking to me to finish. After I told her ‘well done’, she shrugged, and seemed unimpressed. My 15/20 did not seem as good in comparison to her 19/20.

 

Together, once we had been to our lockers, we walked out of the building to my car, and waited there for Mattie.

 

“Mattie’s always late,” Carmilla told me.

 

“That sucks, because I’m always on time,” I joked.

 

Carmilla half-smiled, and shook her head like she was embarrassed of my retort. Danny walked up to us then, again having only parked her car a few down from mine.

 

“What are you guys doing?” she asked.

 

“Waiting for Mattie,” I answered.

 

“Oh, your sister?” she said, looking at Carmilla.

 

“Yep,” said Carmilla.

 

“Right, cool. Laura, what are you doing later?” asked Danny.

 

“I don’t know. I have no plans.”

 

“Can I come over?”

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

Danny walked away and I considered asking Carmilla whether she wanted to come over too, but figured it was probably too early in the friendship. We spent a few more minutes waiting for Mattie, who finally reached us, puffing from apparently being in her Gym class.

 

“Mattie. How was your day?” asked Carmilla.

 

Mattie put her hands to her knees, breathing loudly. “Great. I love Gym.”

 

“You can totally tell we’re sisters.” Carmilla looked at me. “We both hate exercise.”

 

Laughing, I got in the drivers seat, relishing in Carmilla’s sarcastic humor.

 

“We didn’t have to do this much exercise at our other school,” Mattie explained. “Usually we just played a game of dodge ball each class.”

 

“We don’t really play team sports very often,” I told her gravely. I focused on pulling out of the parking lot and driving out of school. “Have you guys gotten a lot of homework?”

 

Mattie groaned loudly. “Yes. Every subject has given me a stack.”

 

“Yeah. Same,” Carmilla chimed in.

 

“Guess that’s our weekend sorted.”

 

I chuckled. I internally felt sorry for them, knowing that I had never needed to move schools and imagine that it is difficult.

 

“Have you made friends?” I asked cautiously, peering at Mattie in my rearview mirror.

 

She half-smiled. “Yeah! A few. I mean, it happened to Carmilla so easily, but not so much to me,” she explained.

 

“It’s because I’m so utterly inviting,” Carmilla said stoically.

 

“Maybe I should act more like Carmilla.”

 

“And how is that?” said Carmilla.

 

“The opposite of inviting: uninviting. Sarcastic. Annoyed all the time,” Mattie explained.

 

“No, just be yourself,” I tried.

 

“Wow, I’ve never heard that before,” Carmilla deadpanned.

 

“Carmilla, you’re so sarcastic,” I said.

 

“She’s never heard that before, either,” said Mattie, clearly lying.

 

After a few more minutes of back-and-forth banter between my two passengers, I pulled into my driveway, and immediately saw Danny’s car parked in the street. I got out of the car with the other two girls and my goodbyes. Although they only lived next door, I knew that I would not see them until Monday. I went up to my doorstep to find Danny waiting for me there, her tall frame just tall enough for the door.

 

“Not awkward or anything?” asked Danny.

 

“Not at all,” I replied honestly. “They’re pretty friendly.”

 

“Are you taking them everyday now?”

 

“I don’t know. I assume so.”

 

I unlocked the front door and we went inside. Danny usually came over to my house when she had nothing better to do. She had three brothers, so her house was always full of testosterone and she sometimes felt like escaping to my home, where it was likely we would be alone. Together, we ventured into my room, and Danny flicked on the television. She spread herself on my bed and I sat down next to her.

 

After we chatted for several minutes, Danny turned her head to the side and went closer to the window.

 

“That’s so weird,” she noted.

 

“What?”

 

I walked over to where she was standing, and stared through the window. The view from yesterday was different compared to the view that I was looking at currently. When I looked into Carmilla’s house yesterday, all that I could see was black. But this time the drapes had been drawn, and I could see directly into Carmilla’s bedroom. Carmilla lay on her queen-sized bed, unmoving. It looked like she was sleeping.

 

“Is she having a nap?”

 

I shook my head and walked away from the window. “We probably shouldn’t spy on her.”

 

Danny laughed and stepped away from the window, and pulled down the curtain to my own windows.

 

“Well I guess we don’t want her spying on us, either.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mattie is a bit ooc  
> My tumblr: queencarmillaa.tumblr.com


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